


All That Really Matters

by Twice_before_Friday



Series: October? No, I think you mean Whumptober [30]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Gen, Major Character Injury, Malcolm Bright & JT Tarmel Friendship, Whump, internal injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:55:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27281539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twice_before_Friday/pseuds/Twice_before_Friday
Summary: Prompt No 30. NOW WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?Wound Reveal | Ignoring an Injury |Internal Organ InjuryWhen they finally find Malcolm, he's strung up to a hook in the ceiling, arms pulled taut above his head as he dangles about two feet off the ground. Their murder suspect is using him as a stand in for a punching bag, his fists landing a flurry of powerful hits to Malcolm's torso.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright & JT Tarmel
Series: October? No, I think you mean Whumptober [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947595
Comments: 18
Kudos: 82
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	All That Really Matters

When they finally find Malcolm, he's strung up to a hook in the ceiling, arms pulled taut above his head as he dangles about two feet off the ground. Their murder suspect is using him as a stand in for a punching bag, his fists landing a flurry of powerful hits to Malcolm's torso.

Even when they announce their presence, guns trained on the beast of a man, he doesn't stop. JT recognizes the classic 1-2-3 — a Jab-Straight right-Left hook combo — from his days in the boxing ring, but he doesn't have a clear shot to stop the attack. There's too much of a risk that they'll hit Malcolm as the man bobs and weaves around the profiler's swaying body, landing devastating blows that make the profiler swing from his jury-rigged restraints.

JT can tell Malcolm's barely conscious at this point, his head lolling down to his chest, but the pained whimpers that accompany each hit are enough to leave JT seeing red. He holsters his weapon, knowing Gil and Dani have his six, and rushes in like an offensive linemen, dropping his shoulder and tackling the hulking man at a steep enough angle that they sprawl out on the ground well away from Malcolm.

He's distantly aware of Dani standing nearby with her gun trained on them as they throw punches, fighting for the upper hand, while Gil slowly lowers Malcolm to the ground, but he's too busy trying to fight off the killer to pay them any mind. The way the kid cries out at the movement, though, is all the incentive JT needs to land one final punch to the killer's jaw, knocking him out cold. In less than thirty seconds, he and Dani have their suspect cuffed and have called for two ambulances to their location.

By the time JT makes it over to Malcolm, Gil already has the ropes removed from his wrists — raw and bleeding from being hung and left swaying from the vicious beating — and has bundled up his jacket to use as a makeshift pillow beneath Malcolm's head.

Malcolm himself — bruised and bleeding and looking worse than JT has ever seen — is out cold.

~~~

Thirty-six very reluctant hours in the hospital later, Malcolm has somehow managed to obtain discharge papers.

Gil's in a meeting with the brass all day, and Malcolm has very pointedly _not_ mentioned his injuries to his family, so JT has volunteered to pick him up. Not that he minds. It'll put his mind at ease to know the quirky little shit is truly okay.

Not that he'll ever admit it.

Turns out, Malcolm is basically one big walking bruise.

"Shit," JT mutters when he sees him, "You sure you're supposed to be leaving here, man? You look terrible."

Malcolm chuckles in that infuriatingly self-deprecating way that he always does when he's been injured. Like it really doesn't matter.

It pisses JT off.

But the kid's had a rough few days, so he lets it slide with little more than an unimpressed glare.

"I'm fine, honestly," Malcolm smiles in a way that JT thinks is supposed to be reassuring, but how he's holding his left side makes JT suspect he's not as _fine_ as he claims to be. Malcolm, of course, notices his gaze as it lands where he's cradling his ribs and offers a half-hearted shrug with his right shoulder. "Couple of fractured ribs. I've had worse."

JT doesn't bother telling him that it doesn't make it any better, just shakes his head, leads him to the car, and drives him home. Despite Malcolm's insistence that he can make it upstairs on his own, JT escorts him up, letting the man lean on him as they walk up all those flights of stairs and choosing not to comment on how much more of Malcolm's weight he's supporting by the time they get upstairs.

"Take care of yourself, bro," JT says after he gets Malcolm settled in on the couch, looking like he's going to sleep away the next week.

As he's walking back out to his car, JT thinks to himself that a week of sleep would probably be good for the kid. Maybe get rid of the bags that are perpetually darkening his eyes.

~~~

Even still, it comes as no surprise at all when, a mere three days after his release from the hospital, Malcolm shows up at the precinct, gingerly making his way to the conference room where Gil, Dani, and JT are going over the facts of the case they'd caught that morning.

JT wonders for a moment if Malcolm has some freaky murder-radar that tells him exactly when the team has a case, but then he notices a surprised delight on Malcolm's face when he sees they're working a new case and realizes Malcolm would've showed up either way.

To Malcolm's credit, he actually looks considerably better. Most of his visible bruising has started to fade from the lurid purples and blues from the last time JT saw him, to less vicious-looking greens and yellows. Even still, JT can't help but notice the way he's still favouring his left side.

Gil eyes Malcolm in much the same way JT does, but he agrees to let the profiler take a look at the case, with a stern warning that he's not to leave the precinct in pursuit of anything case-related. Surprisingly, Malcolm agrees quite easily.

It's a red flag to all of them.

JT keeps one eye on Malcolm nearly every minute of the day, so when Malcolm clutches his side and grabs the edge of the conference table with a white-knuckled grip after Dani and Gil have left for a lunch run, JT is at Malcolm's side before he even realizes he's moving.

"You okay, man?" JT asks, crouching down beside Malcolm's chair and laying a comforting hand on his back.

It takes Malcolm a moment to answer and JT is honestly expecting his prepackaged answer of, "I'm fine," so he knows something must truly be wrong when Malcolm finally speaks.

"I think something's wrong." It's little more than a gasp, but JT is calling for an ambulance before Malcolm even finishes the sentence.

He puts the phone on speaker and tosses it on the table, freeing his hands to check Malcolm over as he speaks to the dispatcher. As gently as he can, he leans Malcolm back in the chair, noticing the light sheen of sweat coating his skin and the pain that's etched deeply on his face.

"Hang in there, bro," JT says quietly as he tugs Malcolm's shirt up to get a look at what they're dealing with. He sucks in a sharp breath as soon as Malcolm's abdomen is bared.

The bruising is entirely expected — and hasn't quite faded like those on his face — but his entire abdomen looks painfully distended as well, and JT knows that probably means internal bleeding. He relays the information to the 9-1-1 dispatcher and then slips his fingers to Malcolm's wrist to check his pulse. It's like the kid's been running full sprint for hours — far too rapid to mean anything good. He passes that information on as well before he releases his grip on Malcolm's wrist.

"Shit," JT breathes and looks up to meet Malcolm's eyes, pain and panic casting a glassy sheen over the usually crystal-clear irises. The look turns JT's blood cold. He's seen Malcolm in too many life threatening situations to count, but he's never seen him look like _this_. "You're gonna be okay, man. Help is coming."

And thankfully, help arrives quickly. It's not long before Malcolm is being rushed from the room into the back of a waiting ambulance. JT closes the door of the bus and raps on it twice, letting the driver know they're good to go, and then watches the ambulance drive away with a growing feeling of unease deep in his chest.

He waits outside and intercepts Gil and Dani as they return to the precinct, bags of food in hand. Wasting no time, he leads them to his car and explains the situation while he drives them to the hospital. The food lies abandoned in the backseat as they rush in, hearts in their throats, praying for good news.

They wait for hours for an update, the time spent pacing the waiting room floor, hoping against hope that Malcolm got there in time.

When they finally get an update, JT ignores the bulk of the medical mumbo-jumbo. Phrases like "delayed splenic rupture," "hypotensive," and "severe internal bleeding" wash right over him as he waits for the words that matter the most.

"We expect he'll make a full recovery," the doctor says with a practiced smile.

Honestly, JT thinks as he sinks into one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs with a relieved sigh, that's all that really matters.

**Author's Note:**

> So, the wonderful KateSamantha gave me this genius prompt of 'delayed splenic rupture' to use for today's prompt. I'm not sure I've done it justice, but I'm crossing my fingers that it's okay!


End file.
